Police said the 20-year-old Dalit student was raped by her friend and two others in an auto-rickshaw.

The incident came to light after some local resident noticed a commotion inside the three-wheeler and alerted the police. Soon, the three assailants fled the scene, leaving the shocked girl in the auto.

The woman later told police that an auto-driver had befriended her and she used to bunk classes to travel with him. On Tuesday, she bunked college again and went to Kollam with him. While returning home in the evening, they were joined by two more friends. When the auto reached a deserted spot, the trio forcibly assaulted her. Of the three persons, police have identified two.

The latest incident comes after the rape and murder of a student in Kochi. On Thursday last week, her body, bearing torture marks, was found in her one–room house in Perumbavoor near Kochi. Although the murder took place last week, gruesome details of the crime emerged only this week.

The incident has triggered widespread protest across the state.

Chief minister Ooomen Chandy called on the grieving mother at Perumbavoor hospital and promised the family all help; opposition leader VS Achuthanandan also met her.